Tender Buttons
by blue mood blue
Summary: Coraline AU; Kurt realizes that Other-Blaine and the life he's offering might not be the wonder Kurt had originally thought.


Tender Buttons

"You know, you could stay forever… if you want."

Kurt looked over at the boy next to him. He wore a familiar, navy blue, red-trimmed uniform that reminded Kurt of simpler times before the move, when he and Blaine would spend hours together in the commons pretending to study. It was also a reminder of how hard it was to hold onto his boyfriend through the horrible phone service and barely-existent internet he now had to contend with since being dragged away to live with his dad in a house in the middle of nowhere. That Blaine was slipping away; Kurt could feel it. Neither of them wanted it to happen, but they couldn't figure out how to make it stop.

This other Blaine, though, was standing right next to him. He was right there, real, solid, and not fading in and out over a weak connection. He held Kurt's hand and Kurt could feel its warmth. He smiled, and Kurt didn't have to worry about whether it was a true smile or whether there was something behind it that Blaine felt he couldn't share; it was so painfully real that it cut straight through him. This Blaine was everything he ever wanted, and he was here. He was here and he wanted Kurt to stay with him, in this perfect world that had apparently been waiting for him behind that little door covered with wallpaper. There weren't any bullies, there weren't any judgmental stares, there was just Kurt surrounded by people who seemed entirely focused on making him happy. There was the woman he could hear singing in the next room, who he hadn't seen in eight years before that night.

_This place might be perfect, _he thought to himself, looking into the dark, navy buttons where Blaine's eyes were supposed to be, _if not for that one little detail._

The buttons were unsettling. Every time Kurt thought he might be getting used to the strange place, every time he was just this side of blissfully happy, he would glance up at Blaine expecting shining, honey-gold eyes and instead have to confront flat, unchanging blue. It was more than unsettling, actually; it was like a douse of cold water in his face, a small reminder that something wasn't quite… right. If not for those buttons, there wouldn't have been a question of him staying. He was happy here, in an all-encompassing, complete way.

Other-Blaine was smiling at him in that huge grin, an enthusiastic expression Kurt recognized from his Blaine. He was almost vibrating in place, bouncing and holding a small, wooden box that Kurt couldn't remember him having a second ago. Kurt looked at him questioningly. "Forever…?"

"Forever! Wouldn't that be great? I know that's what you want. You want love that doesn't go away, don't you?" Kurt couldn't deny it. Other-Blaine hadn't been wrong about him yet. "You can have that, I promise." Other-Blaine popped the lid of the box open. "I just need you to do _one little thing_ for me first…"

Other Blaine held the box out for Kurt, who peered inside. Resting on soft, blue silk were two black buttons.

Kurt stared at them for a few seconds, not understanding what Other-Blaine wanted from him. Mistaking the silence for hesitance, Other-Blaine started talking quickly. "I thought you might like black – elegant, and everything matches black, so it would go with all of your clothes. If you wanted something a little more memorable, maybe light blue? Something vintage, even?" The buttons changed as Other-Blaine spoke, switching quickly between colors and styles.

_Oh. _Kurt felt his stomach churn as the realization sunk in. This unfamiliar Blaine expected him to… A shaking hand rose to cover his mouth as every bit of happiness he'd felt that night sank into dread; he couldn't take his eyes off of the buttons in the box.

Other-Blaine reached out and gently caressed Kurt's cheek. Kurt flinched; Other-Blaine snapped the box shut and stepped closer. "He promised you a lot of things, didn't he? That… _other _me out there. I bet he tried to promise you forever, too; but he's not around anymore, is he?" The strange boy leaned closer and Kurt tried to back away, uncomfortable with the proximity. The corner of a wall bit into his back, though he couldn't remember being anywhere close to a wall a few seconds ago. He had to get away somehow. He should never have come to this place; he should have never stayed. He should have known better. "I can really give you forever, Kurt. I've been waiting for you – I've been looking for you for the longest time, and here you are. It won't hurt; you won't even notice the difference."

"I… I don't know what to say…"

"_Say you love me,_" he whispered, then leaned in and kissed Kurt.

The kiss tasted like Blaine – coffee, mint, something like sunshine that he couldn't explain. It felt like him, too, with gentle, testing pressure before becoming more firm and wanting. It smelled like him, it was warm like him… Kurt shouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Every detail was perfect and exactly as he remembered.

Something was wrong, though, and though he couldn't pinpoint what it might be, it was jarring. As he pulled back from the kiss, a muttered "_you aren't my boyfriend_" slipped past his lips.

"What was that?" Other-Blaine was staring at him intently, still far too close.

"I just… I need some time to think. You have to admit that this is kind of overwhelming…"

Other-Blaine's expression was blank, and then cracked into a hollow smile. "Of course. It has been a long night. You should sleep on it."

The wall was gone, and Kurt backed away slowly. Other-Blaine's smile never wavered, but it never grew more genuine. Instead it seemed frozen in place. Kurt didn't take his eyes off of the boy until he was around the corner.

Kurt crawled back into his bed after slamming the tiny door closed behind him. "Never again," he whispered to himself. "I don't care what he thinks he can give me, I'm never going back."

However, as Kurt slipped into a restless sleep a few moments later, his thoughts were not on the strange, button-eyed version of Blaine, but the singing woman who'd been in the next room who'd looked remarkably like Kurt's late mother.

* * *

A/N: So I saw a couple of pictures on tumblr and I couldn't resist. ^_^ Random AU fic is random...

(Disclaimer: Glee belongs to FOX and Ryan Murphy; Coraline belongs to its respective owners. This is meant for entertainment only and not profit.)


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